


They're Burning All the Witches, Even If You Aren't One

by TintedPink



Series: Lysa Does Something Stupid [9]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Tony Stark Has A Heart, Witch Trials, inconsistent time period
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-26 11:37:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18180101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TintedPink/pseuds/TintedPink
Summary: Stephen Strange is a witch who saves people who are not witches from dying because they are accused of witch craft. Tony approves, but he wishes that Stephen would be more careful sometimes.





	They're Burning All the Witches, Even If You Aren't One

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: "They're burning all the witches even if you aren't one"  
> As with many prompts, I gave this one to myself. From a Taylor Swift song I can't remember the name of, and don't care about enough to find, but it said "witch" and I'm a witch, and Stephen's a witch, so it all works out.

“Stephen? I need some more of that burn salve. I’ve had another accident in the forge.”

From somewhere farther into the already small cabin of the village’s healer he heard Stephen call back, “I’m with someone, it’ll be just a minute.”

Tony can hear the tension in his tone and he knows that something is very wrong, so he decides to intervene. “Oh Stephen, and you didn’t invite me? Who’s the lucky lad… y.” Tony enters Stephen’s back room where he does all his apothecary work to see the woman that was meant to be hung that morning sitting in one of Stephen’s cloaks, eyes still tear stained and looking petrified at Tony’s entrance. Tony smiled at her and then looked to Stephen, who was putting together a sack for her and trying his hardest not to look at Tony. He was about to fail. “Stephen, we talked about this.”

“They were trying her for witchcraft, I couldn’t just let her die!” Stephen stood up with a sack in hand already half full of basic medicines and salves for the most common plant rashes.

“I didn’t expect you to,” Tony hissed, keeping his voice low. The house’s walls were too thin to risk speaking any louder. “But I did expect you to have the common sense to get her out of here before they hanged the double! If they see her now she’s definitely dead!” Tony turned his smile back on the haggard woman, “But don’t worry, darling, you’ll be fine.” She nods at him, but she doesn’t look sure. She’s obviously been told not to speak, which is good. One wrong note of her voice carrying through the thin walls and the whole charade would go up in smoke.Tony turned back to Stephen. “I don’t suppose you have a plan for getting her out of here in broad daylight, do you Stephen?”

“Of course I have a plan. She’ll leave at sundown.”

“Sundown!?” Tony flinched at the ringing of his own voice. Too loud. “Alright, and what are you going to do with her until sundown? You’re lucky it’s me that’s popped back here and not some nosy townie. They’d hang you too if they saw you with her after she’s supposed to be _dead_.”

“I know, Tony. I enchanted the door to turn people away today.” Tony gave him a look, “It’s subtle magic, they’ll never know!”

“There’s a witch hunt going on out there, Stephen. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but they’re hanging people. If they catch you doing magic-”

“Then we’ll move on again, just like last time.” Stephen set the bag of medicine and salves down and walked towards Tony, the girl forgotten for the moment. Stephen took Tony’s face in his hands, to make Tony look into his eyes and see his sincerity. “We’ll be okay.”

Tony shook his head, but couldn’t shake Stephen’s grip. “This was a mistake. We should have left as soon as they started hanging people. I can’t lose you Stephen.” The pain in Tony’s voice breaks Stephen’s heart, so he leans in to his lover, pressing their foreheads together.

“I know. I know, Tony. But we can’t just let these people die.”

Tony takes a deep breath, filling his nose with the scent of salves and herbs and Stephen. “I know.” Tony closes his eyes to ward off tears, because as calm as he tries to be this scares him. What they’re doing, what they’re risking, it petrifies him. He’s always so afraid that one day he’ll make an excuse to come and see the healer and he won’t be there, already locked in an iron barred prison where his magic is too weak to save him. “Please, Stephen, just be more careful next time.”

“I know, but she was afraid to go in the daylight. She would have just gotten nervous and gotten herself caught. It’s better this way. We’ll take her to the next village over and she can make her way from there-”

“I’m running out of excuses to go to town, Stephen. I can’t keep doing this in the long term.”

“You’re an excentric, surely you can-” Tony stopped him, shaking head head.

“Hammer is getting suspicious, all these times that I’m riding out on the same day as executions. He’s looking for any proof. If they don’t get you they’ll get me.”

Stephen takes a deep breath and runs his thumbs along the bones of Tony’s cheeks. “No. I won’t let them get you. I’d never let them hurt you.”

“We have no guarantee. What if they hang me before you even get word?”

“I have my ways,” Stephen says cryptically, and Tony rolls his eyes.

“Not with the damn butterflies again, you woodland nymph,” Tony pulls back wrapping his arms around Stephen’s neck. “You’re supposed to be a big scary magical witch, and you ask the butterflies to keep tab on me. You old romantic.” Tony leans back in, this time for a kiss.

“I’m only as romantic as you let me be.” Stephen smiles and kisses Tony again. “This time you didn’t even get us the same house.”

“I couldn’t swing it. Brothers in arms only works the one time before people start to wonder what other kind of brothers you are.”

Stephen rolls his eyes and runs his hands down Tony’s face to his shoulders. “I’ve got burn salve stashed in the kitchen. Get it and go. Tell people I’m busy if they ask.”

“Will do. I love you.” He pecks Stephen on the cheek as he leaves.

“I love you too.” Stephen whispers, because if he says it loud enough for Tony to hear it from the entrance way, then he’ll say it loud enough for everyone else to hear too.

“Now you, my dear, are going to need a change of clothes. Let me see what I can whip up for you.”

She nods and Stephen ignores the red tinge to her ears for the sake of both their dignities.

She meets a nice man three towns over and settles down with him. He calls himself Rhodes. Stephen and Tony still get letters updating them on the health of their child every year at Yule.

Tony and Stephen send letters back on their new fostered (adopted) boy, Peter. They move three times before the witch hunts die down enough for them to really settle, and by then they’ve found a nice house with space enough for an apothecary and a forge, with a good enough excuse to be living together as any. Tony needs a physician on call at all times because of how reckless he is, and Stephen needs someone with a working set of hands to help around the house. They keep separate houses, but the second house is mainly Tony’s work space, with only the front room ever prepared for company to keep up appearances. When their fostered (adopted) boy, begins internships under both Stephen and Tony, neither of them could prouder.

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr Post](https://iwritefanficsometimes.tumblr.com/post/181957222819/theyre-burning-all-the-witches-even-if-you-arent)  
> This was originally posted to a [this](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17232671/chapters/40957076) oneshot compilation. Once all the oneshots from that work have been posted individually and have been up for a week, I will delete that work.


End file.
